Times sure have changed; or have they?

I heard a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years ago. I was only 9 but I remember him saying that someday children like me would be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin.

I liked the thought of that.

Everyone knew the Bible stories King used to explain the conditions in the black community. Since the Civil War, some politicians in the south and from the south had toiled to keep the black community from assuming their right to equality and equal voice in the government processes.

There will always be racists from every tribe, color and creed, but how things have changed today!

No longer are there congressmen who belong to the KKK, and it's black Americans who throw around the N word, not the whites.

Few today would recognize the biblical parallels between the black community and the ancient Hebrews in King's speeches because no one knows much about Bible history.

Absent from the 50th anniversary observance were the hecklers and naysayers, and absent also was the only black senator, Tim Scott of North Carolina, and former President George W. Bush. When I asked why this was, someone said, "Oh, Republicans are racist"

"But," I responded, "It was certain southern Democrats that were affiliated with the KKK and Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican because the Democrats wouldn't have him."

It struck me as odd that King probably couldn't get into his own commemoration now because he'd be snubbed by the same people who snubbed him 50 years ago.

Martin Wenck

Iowa City

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Times sure have changed; or have they?

I heard a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years ago. I was only 9 but I remember him saying that someday children like me would be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our